Monday, August 22, 2011

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.

Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.

She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen.

Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...

In typical Scott fashion, this is the story of a girl whose life is not going exactly the way she’d like. Sound like every other teenager’s problem? Think again. That’s one thing I love most about Elizabeth Scott books-- she creates a story relatable enough, but the situation horrible enough to make a real dilemma.

What I didn't expect out of this story however, was its main character, Abby. If you're familiar with Scott's work, you know that her girls are usually the typical, average, girl-next-door type, which I love (I can only tolerate so many ~otherworldly beautiful MCs, who have guys lining up to date them. .:eyeroll:.). But to say she's different than any other Scott narrator is a bit of an understatement. She's not only blunt, but also quite self-loathing and I must admit, the self-deprecation was a little extreme and even cringeworthy at times. I know many people have low self-esteem, but actually hearing what may be some girls’ inner-most thoughts said out loud in such a straight forward manner struck a chord in me. So instead of getting annoyed at Abby for tearing herself down constantly, I felt the need to go and wrap her in a big ‘ole bear hug (which I’m sure she’d just love, Ha) because no one should feel as unworthy and as awful as she feels about herself.

My absolute favorite part about this book were the big surprise cameo roles from [insert favorite Scott book here*]. I liked that I waited to read the book and discovered it on my own, rather than spoiling it for myself like I almost did (hehe...) because I definitely had an OMG-AHHH-WHAAAT! moment. My only slight complaint is that I wish some of the backstory was a little more fleshed out. (A certain tragedy is mentioned and I would’ve liked to have learned more about that. Plus, how these characters ended up... well, where they did.)

What else can I say except that it’s no doubt, another solid contemporary from Scott!

I cannot wait to read anything and everything else she puts out! And speaking of, her next book As I Wake, will be released September 15th.

*I’d rather keep the book and the characters a secret, so all the Elizabeth Scott fans will rejoice, sigh and D: like I did when I figured it out, but if you haven’t read any of Scott’s previous books and would like to know which book I strongly suggest you read first, just send me a message and I’ll kindly point you towards my favorite Scott novel. ;) Note that I don’t think reading said book is necessary, but it definitely gave it that little extra something. Not sure if I would have loved it as much as I did if it weren’t for the roles of characters I already knew. (*hint hint* The cover matches this one...)